Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22: Not Your Grandpa's .22 Rifle

The Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 is a semi-automatic .22 rifle on an AR-15 platform that is becoming one of the most popular .22 rifles available.

It comes with a 25-round magazine, an adjustable rear stock, and adjustable (removable) front and rear sights.

While the factory sights are more than sufficient for shooting cans and targets at reasonable distances, they can can be removed and replaced with a standard or red dot scope for better accuracy. I put a TRUGLO traditional red dot scope on my M&P 15-22 and quickly became an empty soda can’s worst nightmare.

Some friends and I recently took my M&P 15-22 out with various brands of .22 long rifle ammunition, including Federal and CCI ammunition, and a few boxes of Remington 22 Thunderbolt. We even took a container full of unknown brands that had been buried for a few years and may have gotten wet. The rifle did not care. It shot every brand of ammunition–and even the buried ammunition–as if each had been made just for the M&P 15-22.

We had zero malfunctions after firing about 500 rounds.

Moreover, with the adjustable rear stock, each shooter was able to manipulate the rifle for quick target acquisition and everyone was happy with the TRUGLO red dot scope as well.

Until shooting the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22, my favorite .22 rifles were the Ruger 10/22 and the always accurate Marlin Model 60: the Marlin was a favorite of my grandfather and my father as well. But Smith & Wesson has taken the .22 rifle to a whole new level, and the M&P 15-22 deserves serious consideration from anyone who is looking for a new plinker or a rifle with which to hunt small game.